Internal-combustion engine.



J. H. EATON.

INTERNAL couBUsTmN ENGINE.

4 -PPLIULTIO-l' FILED APB. 29, 1905i. 1,037,605, n Patented Sept. 3,1912.

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.7 Ivm ATTORNEYJ J. H. BATON.

INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 190s.

1,037,605, Patented Sept 3,1912.

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y v ArroRNEvJ J. H. BATON. INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 29, 190B.

1,037,605. Patented sept. 3, 1912.

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u mvNToR ATTORNEY J J. H. BATON. INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE. APPMGATIONFILED APB. 29, 190s.

"7???5? f jrg/gym y 6 ,Y0-2 *afpfl I l r ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES lPATENTOFFICE.

JOHN H. EATON, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK,v ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD T JAMES F.

EATON, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Spcication of Letters Patent. Anneau med April 29,1908. serial No.429,835.

f clare the :following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

The present invention relates torotary internal combustion engines andit has for an object to provide a construction in-wh1ch a change may bemade -in the compression of the' explosive mixture in order that theen'.- gine may be adapted to a large variety or different grades of fuelto obtain the best ref suits from the fuel used. Other objects are toprovide improved means for feeding the fuel to and discharging theburned gases from the cylinders; and to maintain the parts in a cooledstate. a Y To thesev and other ends the invention consists in certainimprovements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter morefully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims atthe end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure l is a side view of an engine constructed inaccordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is an end view of the sameengine; Fig. 3 is a section on line 2`2 and also on line 3-3', Fig. 1;Fig. 4 is a plan viewwith parts in section; Fig. 5 is a detail view ofthe connection between the connecting rods and the eccentrically mountedthrust stud; and Fig. 6 is a detail view of the control .for theigniting mechanism. Fig. 7 is a section'on line 7-7 of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 isa section on line 8 8 of Fig. 4; Fig. 9 is a section of the inlet andexhaust casing with the hub in elevation; Fig. 10 is va detail viewshowing the connection of the piston with the thrust member.

-Referring particularly to the drawings D indicates the shaft to bedriven, mounted upon a suitable base or frame A Connected to one end ofthis shaft by a spider frame or s okes is a rim E which serves as a flyw eel and at the same time as a rotary support for thecylinders. Thecylinders J of `which there may be any desired number, in the presentinstance four.

are arranged in two sets, radially.to`the Ishaft D, being bolted at d tothe interior lof fthe' rim between the spokes H. Withinzthese cylinders,-work the pistons P .which bv connecting rods K are connected to athruststud or member C arranged eccentricallyfv't'o :the axis'off. the rotarysupport. The con- .nection between the connecting rods and the istud Cvmay be of any suitable construction. but it is 'preferred to provideshoes K hav?" .ingfcurved :faces to rock on stud C, the outer @faces ofthe shoes being tapered at opposite lends K2 in order that rings Kit/maysur- L round all of the shoes at each end to secure 'them on the stud;bolts. K4 being employed to hold the rings in position.

I may cause a change in the displacement -of the pistons in thecylinders to reduce a change in the compression of the uelA While theengine 1s in operation, or While it 'is still. This may be effected byshifting the -stud or thrust member C- in a direction radial to theshaft D. `For this pur ose ystud C is mounted on a bearing. bloc 'guidedon the frame A, and the movement I'of the block is effected by a screwshaft F operated bya hand wheelZ- It is4 apparent that the thrust stud Cmay be moved so 'that it is axially alined with the .shaft D in whichevent no movement of the pistons P takes place; or that said stud may bemoved so that the pistons at one end of `their movement reach nearly tothe heads of their cylinders.

The explosive mixture may be admitted l'through valve casings a whichare connected to ports'in Vthe i n ition or explosion chambers ofcylinders and valves o are arranged in the` casin s and are normallyclosed by spring w. hese valves open on the suction stroke of thepistons and the`explosive mixture is drawn from the pipes b whichconnect two valve casings a and are connected to pipes b which are inturn connected to ports or channels b2 formed in the `hub of the ilywheel. The ports or channels "b2 lead to an annular rchamber b3 to whichthe inlet I is connected.

The exhaust isetfected' through passages c, which connect adjacentvexhausts and have passages c conneetedto ports or channels cA Ain thehub between channels Z112, and

Patented sept. 3,1912..

channels c2 are connected by lateral ports o3 with an annular chamber c4connected With the main exhaust-O. Chambers b3 and c4 are formed in asingle casting O which 1s stationarily supported about the hub of thefiy wheel, one end having the shaft D turning therein and the other endcarrying a packing r which prevents the escape of gases at this point..

In order that the driven shaft and other parts of the engine adjacent tothe exhaust 'may bamaintained in a cooled state, I may make a portion ofthe driven shaft D hollow and at one end of the hollow portlon I mayprovide an annular chamber W suitably packed about the shaft andconnected to a pump R. This pump is connected to a suitable water supplyand is operated by an eccentric Q on the drive shaft. The water passesfrom the pump to the chamberdV and thence through a lateral port to theinterior of the shaft D. The other'end of the shaft D is closed andashort distance from this closed" end are provided lateral ports D whichextend through the hub of the y `wheel and connect with a water chamberg surrounding the annular chamber c4, from which the water is exhausted.In this manner the hub of the rotary cylindersupport is maintained in acooled state as is also the casting O.

The exhaust passages are controlled by valves X, the valves of one setof cylinders the units of which are -adjacently arranged beingsuccessively operated on one rotation of the rotary support and thevalves of the other set being successively operated on the nextrotation. For this purpose the valves may be held normally closed bysprings c and have arms Y projecting laterally therefrom, and carryinganti-friction rollers, the arms on one set of cylinders being longerthan the other two. The valves are operated by two cams S and T which.are arranged side by side and each of which operates to successivelyopen the valves of one set of adjacent cylinders on every alternaterevolution of the cylinders, and for this purpose I may employ devicesfor shifting the cams. The cam S is shown in elevation in Fig. 3 but thecompanion cam T, which is of the same crescent shape, he cam surfaces oneach being identical, is behind it in that view and hence does notappear. It is because of this arrangement that the arms Y of one set ofcylinder valves are made longer than the others for it will be seen thatthe arms which engage the farther cam S must reach over and clear theinner cam T.

The devices for shifting the cams preter-` ably comprise a cam carryingmember M arranged on driven shaft D and having are respectivelyconnected to slide bars Sa and T3 movable longitudinally of the shaft- Dand carrying the cams S and T to which they are rigidly connected in anysuitable manner. The cam S of course must needs be cut away in somewhatthe manner shown in Fig. 3 so that the bar T3 of the cam T, which latteris behind cam S in the said ligure, may pass through it to take itsconnection. The cam grooves S and T Yare formed to shift the cams S. andT alternately into and out of. the path of travel of the pairs ofVrollers on the .arms Y, thus permittingl the valves at the proper timeto remain closed while t-he pistons move outwardly to compress themixture and then to open the exhaust valves at proper time for thedischarge of exhaust gases.. y

Bearing in mind the fact thatthe exhaust valve arms Y of one set ofadjacent cylinders coperate with their cam S or T in one plane and theother set in another, it will be seen that either cam may be shiftedinto or out of such plane and hence into and out of operative posit-ion4with respect toits coperating arms independently of the other cam. Thisis necessary in view of the fact that the present engine is of the fourcycle type, andthe respective sets of adjacent cylinders exhaust uponevery other revolution instead -of every revolution. Furthermore, thecams S-T', as shown in Fig. 3, are semi-circular and as there lare fourarms Y, equidistantly spaced, one of them at least, and often two, arewithin such semi-circle all the time. Obviously neither cam can beshifted while an arm is in engagement' therewith and, therefore, thecams are shifted alternately, one upon each revolution of the enginewhile its arms are on the other side of the circle.

It is thought desirable to giveatthis point, an explanation of the cycleof the engine to assist in a proper understanding of the camarrangements just described. Adjacent cylinders forming each set towhich allusion has been made, are exhausted in the same revolutionthroughout half of its duration, while their arms Y are in the halfcircle controlled by the cam and subsequent operationsof the cylindersthroughout the four cycles are jointly entered into in the samerelationship. In Fig. 3, one set of cylinders is exhausting during theupper half of the first revolution, intaking nn the lower half,compressing 011 the upper half of the next revolution (the cam havingbeen/shifted during the interval) andv exploding on the lower halfthereof. The other set during these operations is respectively intaking,compressing, exploding and exhausting. The explanation is confined tothe' cylinders by sets inasmuch as the units of each set follow eachother very closely but there is, of course, a point between the noemenhalf revolutions named in. which one et me cylinders of a set isAintalring for instance While its mate is still exhausting, these beingthe positions of the upper and ri hand cylinders in Fig. 3.

The ignition of the explosive mixture is effected preferably byarranging contact piecesI gon the peripnery of the rim E and connectingthe-m to the sparking plugs It. The contact pieces g are insulated fromeach other by an insulating band or strip g; and have cooperatingtherewith a stationary brush contact connected to a suitable electriccircuit and supported on and insulated from a yielding arm e which isarranged on frame A. Connected to the rotary supportto turn therewith isa ring G which carries two series of contacts L, one set being arrangedin a plane transverse to the axis of the rotary support, dierent fromthe plane in Which the other set is arranged so that a contact N may bemoved to successively engage either series. The contact N is connectedto the electric circuit before men* tioned, and is supported on an .armU Which is rotatably mounted on a cylindrically turned portion U2 ofslide U, but it is suitably locked to move longitudinally with theslide. Slide U is movable on the guide z' inthe direction of the axis ofthe rotar support and carries a traveler V mova le in the cam groove Son cam member M.

In order that vthe time of the engagement of the contact L may bechanged, the contact N is mounted to shift in the direction of the pathof movement of the contact L and for this purpose turnson the slide U.This shifting is effected bv a controlling lever n Which also turnsloosely on the rounded portion U? of `the slide U being admitted througha cut avvay portion in the guide i so that it simply utilizes the guideas a )ivot the latter at the same time beine' movable therethrough. Thelever is slidably connected to arm U by a guide y' that preferably assesthrough an aperture therein and which causes the arm U to rotate withthe lever but at the same time permits it to move with the longitudinalmovement of the slide relatively thereto. To hold the lever and thecontact N in their adjusted positions the lever carries a hand operatedclamp screuT p which Works through a slot in upright bracket m, on frameA.

The lubrication of the cylinders may be eected by means of a lubricantchamber a: from which leadsla tube u to direct tluid to a channeled rings that opens toward its axis and is connected bv short tubes s to thecyinders J.

. I The specific operation of the several parts of this embodimenthaving been given, at

this point. it Will be necessary only to describe the general operation.Fuel is admitteilte the engine at inlet I and is drawn inte thecylinders through valves e. .First the cylinders of one series aresuccesslvely charged and during this charging the cy1' ieders of theother series are successively exhausted. The next movement of thepistons of the first mentioned series is to compress the mixture whichis ignited when the extreme compression point is reached, the otherseries of pistons being at the same time moved to charge theircylinders. The explosion causes the pistons to act on the thrust member@and rotates the cylinders, their support, andthe shaft D from,which 'thepower is taken. The time of the eXplosion may be controlled by the leverfn, which when operated shifts contact N in the direction lot contact"L.

An engine constructed in accordance with this invention gives maximumpower; its parts are arranged so that they are best adapted to withstandthe strain due to centrifugal force; and it may be cont-rolled in such amanner that the best eifects from the fuel used may be obtained.

7l/iat I claim is:

l. The combination with a rotary support, of a plurality of cylinderscarried thereby and forming two sets, pistons Working Vin the cylinders,a member to Which the pistons are connected arranged eccentrically tothe axis of the rotary support, valves for said cylinders, a pair ofcams for operating the valves, one for each set of cylinders, and meansfor shifting the ca'ms alternately into and out of operating position.

2. The combination. with a. rotary support, a set of cylinders carriedthereby, pistons for operation in the cylinders, and a thrustmember foroperating the pistons, of valves for the cylinders, a slidably mountedcam for successively operating said valves, and a rotary cam forelfecting the movement of the sliding cam toward and from operativeposition. l

3. The combination with a rotary support, of a plurality .of cylinderscarried Vthereby and forming two sets, pistons Working 1n the cylinders,valves for said cylin ders, a pair of slides, cams carried by theslides, one for operating the valves of each set, and a rotary cammember adapted to shift the slides alternately into operative relationWith the valves.

l. The combination with a driven shaft. of a support carried thereby, torotate there:

Witln a plurality of cylinders forming tWo eratng the slides to shiftthe cams alternately 4each into the path of its respective coperatingarms.

The combination with a. hollow shaft, of a rotaryl support secured totheshaft and haring a' hub provided with exhaust passages, a plurality ofcylinders carried by the rotary support and communicating with theexhaust` passages, and a member in which said hub turns, `having' anexhaust chamber 10 communicating with the exhaust passages 1n the huband s, water chamber surrounding the exhaust chamber and communicatingwith the hollow shaft.

v Copies of this patent may be obtained forve cents each, nyaddressngthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, JD. C.

